Saturday, September 29, 2012

Note also: I would like to express my appreciation to CNN Commentator
Roland S. Martin (@rolandsmartin) for his comments that partially gave
me the idea to formulate this post. “Thanks, Roland”

One of the most important things that I as a Christian can “know” is to possess an accurate understanding of God, His Nature, Character, Attributes and Power.

This is in fact the greatest need of the Christian as has been so
eloquently elucidated in Dr. Bullinger’s definitive statement on the
“knowledge” of God: The Greatest Christian Need (found all over the
web). Dr. Bullinger said the following, which is the opening statement
of his paper, with which I heartily agree:There is one thing
that the Christian needs more than he needs any other thing. One thing
on which all others rest; and on which all others turn.It is
certain from the Word of God, and also from our own experience, that “we
know not what we should pray for as we ought”. But “the Spirit Himself
helps our infirmities” (Rom 8:26). He knows what we should pray for.
He knows what we need. He makes intercession for us and in us. He
teaches us how to pray, and in Eph. 1:17, we have His prayer set forth
in these words: “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of
glory, may give unto you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in THE
KNOWLEDGE OF HIM.” This, then, must be our greatest need: A true
knowledge of God."Today, we can “know” this more precisely by paying close attention to His Word as Dr. Bullinger also shows.Over the years, however, I have encountered many people who find my
views against corporal punishment/smacking/spanking of children to be:1. Pure stupidity2. Ridiculous3. Laughable4. Not worth even considering for a moment5. Liberal nonsense6. Not in any way congruent with what the Bible teaches on the subject7. And at worst even hereticalI have engaged in many discussions with people who when they see some
of the assertions I make and use the Holy Scriptures to back them up,
their eyes just roll over and they just give me this:· Fella, your ideas are just one brick short of a load· Thanks but no thanks· You poor misguided soulWho am I, I ask? Just another one of those misguided Christian who
doesn’t know Bible truth if it came up and slapped me in the face!
Right?Do you mean to tell me that the Bible suggests something
different than what most Christians believe about this issue and what
is taught in literally millions of pulpits globally? “I mean come on, Martin? Are you serious? Can you read English? I mean are you an idiot?” A laughing matter?This is the reaction I’ve gotten many, many times from well-intentioned
Christian brethren who are doing their best to serve the LORD.To some people, the whole matter is so seemingly ridiculous in their minds that it becomes funny!This is the reaction that many get from Michael Pearl - Pearl has
publicly appeared unapologetic in his writings on corporal
punishment/spanking/smacking. (March 2010): “Michael Pearl laughs at his
critics.” - http://pearlchildtraining.blogspot.com/2010/03/michael-pearl-laughs-at-critics.htmlIt is the same reaction we get from Detective Robert Surgenor of the
Family Defense Network of Ohio, a well know proponent of corporal
punishment and the author of the book “No Fear”.In his book on
page 41, Surgenor’s dad, a born again minister (who Surgenor quotes
authoritatively in his book), said: ”When I hear that spanking actually
produces violent children my sides hurt – from laughing.”So, are we noticing a trend here? Many Christian pastors and teachers think that anyone, and I mean
anyone, who suggests anything different from the obvious, clear, simple,
plain and understandable teaching of the Bible on spanking/smacking
children, is funny and deserves to be laughed at because of their
inability to grasp even the simplest of teachings of the Word of God. I
mean the inability to grasp these teachings that a child in grade school
is supposed to understand is so pathetic on the part of people like me
that it is laughable to them!Now, I am one of the nicest guys I
know, just ask me and I’ll tell you so. (as my dear departed father
used to say) But many people think I am seriously misguided and as I
said, some accuse me be so far off base and that I am just ignoring the
simple, plain and clear unambiguous teachings of the Word of God.Let’s be clear. To most Christians, when it comes to what the Bible
teaches about corporal punishment, there is nothing to debate. There are
no discussions to be had, no new understandings to be learned, and no
points to be clarified.The Bible, the Word of God, is perfect
and they “know” without question, uncertainty, or ambiguity what the
Bible teaches about spanking/smacking/corporal punishment.1. The Word of God is absolutely clear in its advocacy of corporal punishment2. There is nothing to misunderstand3. There is no need for any new information4. The Bible says and means that kids should be spanked/smackedCase closed!Well, does it?Now, in my book, “Thy Rod and Thy Staff, They Comfort Me: Christians
and the Spanking/Smacking Controversy”, (which can be obtained free
without obligation here - http://whynottrainachild.com/2013/06/22/download-martins-book/)
I have made a case that the Biblical teaching concerning corporal
punishment/spanking/smacking children is not so straight forward as many
of our dear brothers and sisters in Christ would have us believe. I have made the following statements of facts which my book purports to prove. These are:ü Fact: The Bible does not teach that spanking a child will save him from Hellü Fact: The Bible does not teach that spanking a child should bring tearsü Fact: In Bible times, the texts concerning spanking children found in
Proverbs were not applied to young children under the age of about 10
years!ü Fact: Some of the most respected Christian theologians of
our time including the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Dr. Karl Barth
and Rev. Dwight Moody rejected spanking childrenü Fact: The main
Christian advocates for spanking children now are not usually trained
Christian theologians teaching in universities, but most often are
conservative fundamentalist Christian pastors, Christian politicians,
Christian psychologists, lay church members and Christian school leadersü Fact: Well-meaning Christian advocates of spanking children have
developed doctrines surrounding what they believe the Bible teaches
about spanking children which are not found in the Bible at allü
Fact: Well-meaning Children’s Rights activists, who are not trained
Bible scholars, have entered this debate attacking the Bible with
disastrous results ü Fact: Many Biblically conservative Jewish
Rabbis, who have the Old Testament as their Holy Scripture, reject
spanking children today Features of this volumeØ 353 Separate Biblical Texts ReferencedØ 82 Separate References from Hebrew and Christian ScholarsØ 39 Authoritative Biblical Reference Works UtilizedØ Key new information revealed from an early Egyptian text which is
also found today in the Biblical book of Proverbs concerning spankingThese abovementioned statements are backed up with abundant facts to prove my assertions (see www.samuelmartin.blogspot.com for book reviews and see also http://redemptivechristianity.com/?p=214, but still we have people whose minds are closed and refuse to consider any other point of view other than the one they hold.Once again: Case Closed!Now, if I am correct in some or all of my assertions, it appears t hat the understandings that some people have are very seriously misguided? Why is this the case?The reason that we have such a problem concerns the approach that many
dear brothers and sisters in Christ take when it comes to interpreting
Scripture. They take a very literal view and have no trouble
transporting Biblical texts, words, and information out of their
original contexts and transplanting them rod, switch and paddle into our
modern world and contexts today.Add to this a reliance on 400
year old Bible translations and an almost superstitious approach to the
Bible which is almost idolatrous. Herein, lays the major problems we
have. There are other issues, but these are the main ones.A comparison to another simple/plain/clear Bible teaching which in fact is also not that way at allNow, comparisons can be helpful to allow us to place an issue in a
context, which can be useful to help develop a great understanding of
not only the issue at hand, but perhaps other issues which are like it.This is especially the case concerning those Bible teachings which seem, on the surface, to be so clear and plain.One of these teachings which we find great interest in among
fundamentalist Christians concerns the number of Israelites who left
Egypt during the time of the Exodus. This issue is going to be the case
study for our comparison.To many believers, on this point, the
Bible is clear. We know, according to some interpretations, that
between 2 to 2.5 million Israelites left Egypt under Moses.In this case, I will be relying on research done by my late father, Prof. Ernest L. Martin (1), concerning this issue. All of the research in this article concerning the population of Israel at the Exodus is my late father's original research. I am adapting it here for comparitive purposes and linking it to the debate about the corporal punishment of children.This interpretation that there were 2-2.5 million Israelites who left
Egypt under Moses is arrived at mostly due to the interpretation of
three verses. These are:“And the people of Israel journeyed
from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides
women and children. A mixed multitude also went up with them, and very
much livestock, both flocks and herds.” (Exodus 12:37-38 ESV)

“So
all those listed of the people of Israel, by their fathers' houses, from
twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war in Israel—all
those listed were 603,550.” (Numbers 1:45-46 ESV)“This was the list of the people of Israel, 601,730.” (Numbers 26:51 ESV)These are two “censuses” taken at the beginning and end of the Exodus
along with a general narrative statement in the book of Exodus.Now, here there is no ambiguity, no confusion, no lack of clarity to
many: The Bible means 600,000 plus armed men for the war. Case closed!
End of story!On the basis of these verses, many Christian
commentators have stated that with these numbers of just men of warrior
age (20 -50 years), this would make the overall population some 2-2.5
million Israelites who left Egypt.But is this the case?Now, this prodigious number of people creates some logistics problems
for Bible interpreters, scholars, historians and archaeologists. But for
some well-intentioned believers, there is no problem because they
“know” the clear and plain teachings of the Holy Scriptures!We
have to understand also that when we read the narratives of what
happened to this supposed mass of people in the narratives associated
with the Exodus period and the arrival of the Israelites into the Holy
Land, all of these narratives must be taken into consideration when it
comes to interpreting the data from other sections. If you
think that it is possible to solve this question only by proposing an
answer that purports to address the logistics problems outlined in these
three texts (Exodus 12:37-38); (Numbers 1:45-46); (Numbers 26:51), I am
sorry to tell you, IT WON’T WORK! Think I am misguided, keep reading!Now, some scholars have just abandoned any faith in the Holy Scriptures
at all and just said that the Exodus stories are just simple fairy
tales and it is simply logistically impossible that Moses had that many
men in his army. You can find many such views on the Web.But
if the Bible says that there were over 600,000 armed men for the war,
let me be clear: I believe it! However, rather than asking what the
Bible “says” or what is might “appear to say” or “mean,” let’s look at
the whole counsel of God concerning this question (or any other question
like, for example, corporal punishment/spanking/smacking of children)
and let us try to figure out what the Bible means through what it says. I
think that everyone will agree that what the Bible says is important,
but what it means is vastly more important. Let us be clear.
It is impossible to interpret those three verses in Exodus and Numbers
without considering all of the information in the whole of the Exodus
narrative. That is simply not fair or intellectually honest. You’ve got
to come up with a meaning for all of the texts in this section to make
the whole story make sense or else you’ve just got a story which makes
no sense at all and then those of us who love and believe Scripture are
made out to be believers in fairy tales and who ignore scientific or
logistical facts. Whatever we do we need to be intellectually honest
with the Holy Scriptures. Let me be clear. I believe the Holy
Scriptures are God’s revealed Word to mankind. I believe that God has
provided us the answer to this question and to all questions we may
have. It is clear that God, whose Word is Truth (John 17:17) knows and
possesses, all truth! The Exodus and the Population figures – What really happened?Now, God has given us the information we need to understand pretty
accurately to know what was taking place in the time of Moses related to
the Exodus if we will pay close attention to the whole counsel of God
in His Holy Scriptures! Herein lies the answer we are seeking and herein
also may lie the answer we are seeking concerning God’s view on
corporal punishment/smacking/spanking. We have to be willing to look at
the whole picture. I think that anyone with any reasonable
approach to Scripture has to agree that this is the right way to do
things. “All things should be done decently and in order.” (I Cor.
14:40) To this text, we can also add the following: “Do your best to
present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be
ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” (II Timothy 2:15)First, it must be agreed and understood that the Bible says that there
were just over 600,000 armed men for the war and it says that three
times. This is meant to be understood as referring to 600 hundred
thousand. This is exactly what the phrase in Hebrew says and it means
exactly 600,000 plus the few thousand extra mentioned. Many
people have come along and seen the problems with this prodigious number
and said that the meaning here is not “thousand”, but it means
‘families’ or many other words. This interpretation has been
around also for about 75 years or so.

A recent commentary now
connects a military meaning to the Hebrew word for “thousand” and adds
the term “platoon” or “squads” to an already mixed up subject. “Translation challenges occur throughout the Bible, but numbers in the
Old Testament present us with a special challenge. In Exodus 12:37 the
ESV says that Israel consisted of about 600,000 men. Since we’re not
given the number of women and children, there’s no way to be certain
about the total population. However, a popular guess has been around 2
million people. And that’s where we get the imagery of 2 million people
marching out of Egypt on the night of the exodus.But we have a
problem. In his excellent commentary on Exodus, Douglas Stuart uses the
NRSV to show that the Hebrew word for “thousand” has been translated in
a variety of ways: thousand, cattle, clan(s), division(s), family(ies),
ox(en), and tribe(s). After giving a possible explanation for why this
term has such a broad range of meaning, Stuart argues that the Hebrew
word should be connected to Israel’s military. And that means “platoon”
or “squad” are better translations than “thousand.” But how many
soldiers were in a “platoon”?Stuart surmises that each platoon
would have had about a dozen soldiers. So six hundred platoons would
give us about 7,200 fighting men. Based on that number, Stuart estimates
that the total population of Israel would have been about
28,800—36,000.[1] http://www.bible-bridge.com/israels-population-exodus-2-million-36000/This “answer” only addresses one very small aspect of this issue and
ignores a whole other range of questions that we are going to talk about
now related to this story.Now, I am going to assert that when
the Bible says in Exodus and Numbers “thousands” (Hebrew: אלף), it
means exactly that: thousands! Not families, platoons, squads, clans,
tribes or divisions! It also does not mean “cattle” or “oxen”. No, not
at all.Note: Let’s be clear on this. One of the reasons that
some well-intentioned people have suggested alternative meanings to this
word “thousand” is to try to attempt to address the fact that the
logistics associated with the Exodus if 2-2.5 million persons are just
impossible.

But, if that is the case and it does mean “thousands”,
then we are talking about a population of 2-2.5 million people wandering
around in the Sinai desert, which is basically a logistical
impossibility. So what is the answer?Now, it is important to
understand that it is possible mathematically that could have been a
population of 2-2.5 million Israelites in Egypt at the time of Moses.
This is quite easy to demonstrate. Scholars have pointed this out as a
possibility.At the beginning of the period of the Exodus when
Moses took the children of Israel out of Egypt, there were a number of
events mentioned that we need to pay attention to.Now, we read the following in Exodus 1:“These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with
Jacob, each with his household: 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, 3
Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, 4 Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. 5
All the descendants of Jacob were seventy persons; Joseph was already in
Egypt. (Exodus 1:1-5)

By this time, Joseph was already in Egypt and
we can say that Jacob, 70 persons and Joseph and his wife and two sons,
makes 75 persons in total. (Acts 7:14)

Now, from 75 persons, it is
possible by the sixth generation after the time of Jacob, when the
Exodus took place, when one reads the genealogical tables in Exodus and
Numbers, you will note that normally there were 4-6 men born to each
family.So, say there were five men born to every Israelite who
went down to Egypt. After the first generation, the number would reach
350 men.

Generation Two = 5 male children X 350 – 1,750 male childrenGeneration Three = 5 male children X 1,750 – 8,750 male childrenGeneration Four = 5 male children X 8,750 = 43.750 male childrenGeneration Five = 5 male children X 43,750 = 218,250 male childrenGeneration Six = 5 male children X 218,250 = 1,091,250 male childrenSo, it is theoretically possible from the 70 in the first generation,
that after six generations, you could theoretically have 2 million
people or slightly more just by normal increase.Now, let us see what the historical record tells us what happened to the Israelites in Egypt.“Then Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation. But
the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they
multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with
them.” (Exodus 1:6-7 ESV)Now, as we have shown and as some
scholars have pointed out, within six generations it is possible that
the Israelites could have grown to a prodigious number. This is what
seems to have taken place. There is no reason that they could not have
grown to a huge number of people. Now look what happened.“Now
there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. And he said
to his people, “Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty
for us. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and,
if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape
from the land.” (Exodus 1:8-10 ESV)This text says that the
number of Israelites had even exceeded the number of native Egyptians.
So, the Israelites, the vast number, were placed under servitude. But, look what happened. They continued to increase in population.“But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the
more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people
of Israel.” (Exodus 1:12 ESV)

So, then a strategy to reduce the population began to be implemented against the Israelites.“Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was
named Shiphrah and the other Puah, “When you serve as midwife to the
Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall
kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.” (Exodus 1:15-16 ESV)So, this strategy to reduce the population of the Israelites was
implemented by the King of Egypt. At first, it was not successful, but
later the King of Egypt began to implement a stricter policy of killing
male children.“So God dealt well with the midwives. And the
people multiplied and grew very strong. And because the midwives feared
God, he gave them families. Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile,
but you shall let every daughter live.” (Exodus 1:20-22 ESV)

Horrifyingly, there was a mass destruction of the male children of the
Israelites at this time. There could have been thousands of boy babies
who died during this awful period.

Under this time, the Israelites were under a great community stress due to a huge loss of boy children. Now, we all know the story of God raising up Moses and the story of how
the Israelite people left Egypt. They went over the Red Sea and when
the first “census” took place in Numbers 1, the number of men armed for
the war reached over 600,000: “So all those listed of the
people of Israel, by their fathers' houses, from twenty years old and
upward, every man able to go to war in Israel—all those listed were
603,550.” (Numbers 1:45-46 ESV)Now, there is no doubt at this number, 603,550 men. But there is a problem in all of this.First, there was a great decimation of male children in Exodus 1 which
is one of the reasons Moses’ ministry started. Even Moses himself was
saved miraculously. There was a great decimation of the
Israelitish population at that time. It really makes a person wonder if
there really were 603,500 men as the book of Numbers seems to teach who
passed over the Red Sea?Now, people have been wondering about all of this for centuries. How do we understand this? There are just so many problems with the
issue of there being some 2-2.5 million Israelite people leaving Egypt
and passing over the Red Sea.Now, during the time that the Israelites were leaving Egypt, they had a war with the Amalekites.“Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. So Moses said to
Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I
will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” So
Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses,
Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. Whenever Moses held up
his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek
prevailed. But Moses' hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it
under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one
on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady
until the going down of the sun. And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his
people with the sword.” (Exodus 17:8-13 ESV)

Now, if there were
600,000 plus Israelites armed men for the war, one would imagine that if
the Amalekites were able to “prevail” at some times, they would also
have had to have a similar number of people out there in the wilderness
of Sinai?There was very little water and food out there, so
you start to get into logistical impossibilities very quickly, if there
were indeed 600,000 plus men being discussed.What this seems to show is that one feels that there were not so many people as the first chapter of Numbers seems to indicate.This is not the only thing.Note also that when the Israelites left Mount Sinai and got close to
the land of Canaan, they sent out the 12 spies for 40 days. After not
entering the land and being turned back into the wilderness for 40
years, the Israelites left again to go once more to Canaan.

Now, in traveling to Canaan, it says the following:“Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom: “Thus says your
brother Israel: You know all the hardship that we have met: how our
fathers went down to Egypt, and we lived in Egypt a long time. And the
Egyptians dealt harshly with us and our fathers. And when we cried to
the LORD, he heard our voice and sent an angel and brought us out of
Egypt. And here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory.
Please let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or
vineyard, or drink water from a well. We will go along the King's
Highway. We will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left until
we have passed through your territory.” But Edom said to him, “You shall
not pass through, lest I come out with the sword against you.” And the
people of Israel said to him, “We will go up by the highway, and if we
drink of your water, I and my livestock, then I will pay for it. Let me
only pass through on foot, nothing more.” But he said, “You shall not
pass through.” And Edom came out against them with a large army and with
a strong force. Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his
territory, so Israel turned away from him.” (Numbers 20:14-21 ESV) Now, let us understand what this says. It says that the Israelites
asked to pass through the country of Edom, which is modern day Jordan,
and not to pass off of the small highway path that lead through the
country. This is precisely what is written here.Now, we are
here talking about the Israelite peoples with their wagons, people and
animals. In the old days when the western part of America was being
settled, the old wagon trains would normally stretch out their wagons
and you might have a total of 500-1,000 people covering a mile of territory.So, on one dirt track, which if there were 2-2.5 million people, say,
1,000 per mile that would be from the Sinai desert to the United Kingdom! It
is almost logistically impossible to imagine. Also, when the
Israelites arrived in the Holy Land, we all remember the story of the
Israelites going around Jericho, the whole story logistically makes no
sense if you are talking about 2.5 million people. According
to archaeological evidence of ancient Jericho, it has been shown that no
more than 3,500 people lived in that village (which comprises no more
than about ten acres) at any time during this period! With all of the
people who lived around the village, you are not talking much more than
10-20,000 at the most. The whole Jericho narrative just makes no sense
if you have this mass of 2.5 million people needing the walls to come
down by a miracle to overpower a village of 3,500 people! It is just
really silly to think of 2.5 million people marching around Jericho. It
is logistically ridiculous.I can attest to this myself
considering that Jericho is some 20 miles from my house and I have been
there in person many, many times.In addition, it seems also to
be very difficult to believe that 2.5 million people were accompanying
Moses when it comes to his discussion with his father-in-law Jethro.
Note it here:“Moreover, look for able men from all the people,
men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such
men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and
of tens. And let them judge the people at all times. Every great matter
they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide
themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden
with you. If you do this, God will direct you, you will be able to
endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace. So
Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had
said. Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over
the people, chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
And they judged the people at all times. Any hard case they brought to
Moses, but any small matter they decided themselves. Then Moses let his
father-in-law depart, and he went away to his own country.” (Exodus
18:21-27 ESV)

Moses was told to develop a chain of command. Note
that at no time did Jethro say he needed to have command over 10,000
persons, or over 100,000’s, no! Not at all! The largest unit described
is 1,000 persons over which someone was designated.

So, when you look at what Jethro said, it doesn’t look like we are talking about such prodigious numbers of people.In addition, note also Exodus 33:7-10:“Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off
from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who
sought the LORD would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside
the camp. Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise
up, and each would stand at his tent door, and watch Moses until he had
gone into the tent. When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud
would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the LORD would
speak with Moses. And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud
standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise up and
worship, each at his tent door.” (Exodus 33:7-10 ESV)Now, this
was before the tabernacle (the portable Temple) was set up and Moses
allowed the people to set up a camp. Here you can get a general idea of
how many people there were. It says that all of the people could observe
this scene described here. This would be a logistical impossibility to
view were there 2.5 million people camped in one spot.Now,
these are problems that present to us difficulties. Some people just
ignore these points and pay no attention and just focus right in on one,
two or three texts and often choose not to pay close attention to the
whole counsel of God and His Word. This is what I have found in my
studies concerning the issue of corporal punishment and the supposed
advocacy for that practice found in the Biblical book of Proverbs in
particular.Now, what is the answer? Is there one? Yes, there
is and we need to pay attention to what the Bible teaches on this
subject. The Bible provides all of the essential clues.Now,
how can we really know how many people there really were? First you have
to look at another census of people mentioned in Numbers 3:43, it says
the following:“And the LORD said to Moses, “List all the
firstborn males of the people of Israel, from a month old and upward,
taking the number of their names. And you shall take the Levites for
me—I am the LORD—instead of all the firstborn among the people of
Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstborn among
the cattle of the people of Israel.” So Moses listed all the firstborn
among the people of Israel, as the LORD commanded him. And all the
firstborn males, according to the number of names, from a month old and
upward as listed were 22,273.” (Numbers 3:40-43 ESV)This actual census of the first born males in Israel at the time of the Exodus was 22,273!This is of all of the generations of the Israelites living at the time
from a month old and upward. Now, we know from Psalm 90, written by
Moses himself that during this period people lived to be 70 or 80 years
old.“For all our days pass away under your wrath; we bring our
years to an end like a sigh. The years of our life are seventy, or even
by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble;
they are soon gone, and we fly away.” (Psalm 90:9-10 ESV)

While
Moses lived to be 120 himself (Deuteronomy 34:7), he was a little older
than most of his colleagues according to Psalm 90. So, when
you add up all of the generations, you have Moses at that time being 80,
you have perhaps his children and grandchildren and great grand
children being discussed when we look at Numbers 3:43 and its discussion
of the first born.

We note also in the Ten Commandments, it speaks about the third and fourth generation of families:“You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God
am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children
to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, …” (Exodus
20:5 ESV)If there were three generations of first born males
under discussion, then one simply needs to divide the 22,273 by three!
So, this gives you just about 7,400 families! So, if you then look at
the genealogical records, you find that if there are five male children
per family, then you have about 35,000 male children under discussion.
Of course, you have to add the females as well.

Now, if these
22,273 firstborn males refers to the firstborn of the 600,000 plus armed
men for the war, then every single woman had just over 27 male
children! When you add in the girl babies, this number is doubled to 54
children per woman. This is just really nonsensical, but clearly this is
not what is being stated at all. There is another way we have to
understand the use of this figure 600,000!MOSES IS NOT TELLING US THAT THERE WERE A LITERAL 600,000 ARMED MEN FOR THE WAR!NO MATTER WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS AND NO MATTER WHAT PEOPLE WILL TELL YOU
THEY “KNOW” ABOUT THE BIBLE, THERE IS NO WAY THERE WAS 600,000 PHYSICAL
MEN COUNTED IN A “CENSUS” LIKE WE THINK OF A “CENSUS” TODAY!Now, we start to see the whole story making better sense when we start
getting smaller numbers in mind. Note the following, which took place in
the last year of the Exodus:“While Israel lived in Shittim,
the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. … Nevertheless,
those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand. (Numbers 25:1-9
ESV)Then, in the very last chapter of the book of Numbers, the
Israelites warred with the Midianites, note how many warriors were
selected from each tribe of Israel?“The LORD spoke to Moses,
saying, “Avenge the people of Israel on the Midianites. Afterward you
shall be gathered to your people.” So Moses spoke to the people, saying,
“Arm men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian to
execute the LORD's vengeance on Midian. You shall send a thousand from
each of the tribes of Israel to the war.” So there were provided, out of
the thousands of Israel, a thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand
armed for war. And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand from each
tribe, together with Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, with the
vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand.”
(Numbers 31:1-6 ESV)So, what happened to the 600,000 armed men
for the war, when here at the end of the Exodus period after 40 years,
only 12,000 armed men are present, 1,000 from each tribe?So the general population of Israel, when they crossed over the Jordan river would be no more than 20-40,000 persons in total.

Now, what about the 600,000 armed men for the war? How do we explain this? The answer is in Numbers Chapter 1, verses 17-18:

“Moses and Aaron took these men who had been named, and on the first
day of the second month, they assembled the whole congregation together,
who registered themselves by clans, by fathers' houses, according to
the number of names from twenty years old and upward, head by
head,…”(Numbers 1:17-18 ESV)This is a “census”, but it is not a “census” like you and I are familiar with today.When we undertake a “census”, it is a “census” of living people, but
what took place there in ancient times is not the same kind of “census”
that you and I are familiar with today! They registered
themselves by clans, by fathers’ houses according to the number of names
from twenty years and upward. What happened?THEY REGISTERED THEIR DEAD RELATIVES (THEIR PEDIGREES) GOING ALL THE WAY BACK TO ABRAHAM! This is exactly what this text teaches.The LORD did not need to check first whether or not if it was fine or
ok with Christian people in the USA or Europe to decide how He
undertakes His “censuses”. However, He does urge those same people to
study His Scriptures to know what it is He is teaching on any subject!Isn’t it interesting in Hebrews 7:9, 10, it says the following:“One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid
tithes through Abraham, for he was still in the loins of his ancestor
when Melchizedek met him.” (Hebrews 7:9-10 ESV)Levi, who was the
fourth generation away from Abraham, is here reckoned as paying tithes
to Melchisedek, even though he had not even been born yet! This is exactly what we are talking about here with the 600,000 persons, but in a reverse way!These 600,000 plus people are not only the living people, but also
represent pedigrees of names going back to Abraham! This understanding
can make the whole Exodus narrative make sense in light of the whole
counsel of God. When you understand how God (not you or I) counts people, everything begins to make sense! Summing upWhen we look at this issue, we can see something that requires us to
take a bigger picture point of view concerning the issue of
understanding how many people there were at the Exodus.If we home in on just one text, we are potentially going to miss out on the truth. The same thing is the case concerning the on-going debate about
corporal punishment/smacking/spanking. If we just look at one or two
Scriptures and think that we “know” the truth, that the information is
so clear and plain, we may find ourselves wandering around with 2.5
million people in a spiritual desert with no spiritual food or water!
This, unfortunately, today is the state I think we are currently in in
understanding this issue of corporal punishment/smacking/spanking!But, as I have tried to show in my book, which addresses some 353
Biblical texts in developing a comprehensive argument to attempt to
display the whole counsel of God on this subject, we may find a whole
different picture – which in fact could very well be the true picture –
materializing.To conclude, if you would like to examine this
matter for yourself, I am happy to send you my free ebook “Thy Rod and
Thy Staff, They Comfort Me; Christians and the Spanking/Smacking
Controversy”. Please download the free ebook here - http://whynottrainachild.com/2013/06/22/download-martins-book/. Blessings from JerusalemSamuel Martin(1) The reconstruction of the information related to the population of Israel at the Exodus comes from the book by Ernest L. Martin "101 Bible Secrets Christians Do Not Know" (ASK Pubilcation: 1993)

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Corporal Punishment/Spanking/Smacking:

The dialogue no one seemingly
wants to have

Since 2006, since I first published my book “Thy Rod and Thy
Staff, They Comfort Me: Christians and the Spanking (or Smacking) Controversy,
I have been fairly active in sharing my views and research on this issue. [Today,
I give my book mentioned above away freely as an ebook - download it here - http://whynottrainachild.com/2013/06/22/download-martins-book/] I have been especially interested in seeking
dialogue with Christian advocates of Corporal Punishment/Spanking/Smacking of children.

But I have to make an admission here. In this regard, I’ve
failed. I’ve been unable in large part to engage many advocates of Corporal
Punishment/Spanking/Smacking in the religious community. This is, I believe,
not for lack of trying. Let me give just a couple of examples of how I’ve tried
to reach out over the years.

Last year, I was invited to participate in a discussion that
one of my friends on Facebook was having with a pastor from Arizona. I joined
the thread and started to share some of my views. I was making a number of
statements which the pastor was disagreeing with and at the conclusion of the
discussion, I proposed a solution: I would send my book directly to the pastor
and we would continue the “dialogue” we opened up. I sent the book and never
heard a word from that pastor again.

A similar circumstance happened to me about three months
ago. I expressed an interest in engaging and opening a dialogue with interested
parties who wanted to discuss the issue with the view to coming to a greater
understanding of the truth. I was approached by another individual who expressed
the willingness to read my book to critique it and to “dialogue” and with the
view to the development of a better mutual understanding. I was really hoping
for some constructive feedback or to show me where my manuscript could be
improved. I sent the book and so far no “dialogue.”

This has not been the case with just pastors of churches or
laypersons. I have experienced the exact same thing with theological scholars.
In one case, I learned of a theological scholar who is a member of one of the
USA’s largest Christian denominations. Knowing of his view due to seeing a book
review done by him of another scholars book (which dealt with the subject of
Corporal Punishment in fact), I wrote that scholar asking for “dialogue”. This
was especially the case in light of the fact that Christianity Today recently
came out with a very courageous article and they embraced a position which is
much closer to what I believe. See their January 2012 issue.

This particular scholar answered my query which sounded “very
interesting”, but the scholar had no time to engage in any discussion or “dialogue”
with me concerning my assertions in my book.

I wrote the scholar back in a way appealing to the need to “dialogue”
on this issue with those who held different views due to the seriousness that
is these days surrounding this issue. I appealed to the fact that a number of
children that we do know about have died at the hands of their parents and have
been judged guilty in courts of law. These points once again did not to open up
the “dialogue” I have been seeking.

I have also engaged in a very short “dialogue” with a
leading figure in the Christian psychological community. But that “dialogue”
also went nowhere when the psychologist wanted to continue the discussion with
me on terms I was simply unable to engage. I was unable to engage in a
discussion about psychological studies and evidence undertaken by university professors
showing that corporal punishment was not so bad after all.

On this note, I had to bow out of the discussion because if
I have any gifts or know anything about this issue, it certainly is not in the
area of what psychologists or sociologists think or believe.

I’ve been approached again of late by an online friend
urging me in a friendly way to enter into a “dialogue” with Michael Pearl
hoping I might be able to engage him and at least get him to read my book. I
was and still am very willing to do the same.

Were Michael Pearl or anyone advocate of corporal punishment
be willing to engage in a meaningful dialogue concerning what the Bible may
mean when is speaks about corporal punishment, I would definitely welcome that.

I, in fact, am willing to go to great lengths on my blog and
in my newsletters to see that take place. I am stretching out my hand in “dialogue”
over and over, but so far hardly anyone that I know has been willing to meet me
half way.

I am praying that the LORD will open some doors to those who
are concerned with what the Scriptures mean above all other considerations.

If any of you have any ideas about how I might get better
results, I would love to enter into a “dialogue” with you concerning that issue.
Write me at: info@biblechild.com or connect with me on www.facebook.com/byblechyld.

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About Me

Samuel Martin was born in England and is the youngest child of Dr. Ernest L. and Helen R. Martin, who are both Americans. He lived in the UK for the first 7 years of his life before moving to the USA with his family at age 7. He lived in the USA until 2001 when he married a native Israeli and relocated to live in Jerusalem. He and his wife, Sonia, have 2 daughters.
His experience with biblical scholarship began at an early age. His father initiated a program in conjunction with Hebrew Univ. and Prof. Benjamin Mazar, where over a 5 year period, some 450 college students came to work on an archaeological excavation in Jerusalem starting in 1969. Since that first trip, Samuel has visited Israel on 14 different occasions living more than 5 years of his life in the country. He has toured all areas of Israel as well as worked in several archaeological excavations.
Today, he has begun his academic career publishing 2 books dealing with biblical issues.
I write regularly on biblical subjects with a particular interest in children, families, nature, science and the Bible,and gender in the Biblical context.